Barnard Hughes, Charles Durning, Dolph Sweet

A nosey reporter thinks she's witnessed a killing--but why does she have a strange affinity for the murder suspect--and furthermore, why do they share the same scar?..

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72% liked it

4,433 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

23 critics

R, 1 hr. 32 min.

Directed by: Brian DePalma

Release Date: March 27, 1973

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DVD Release Date: October 3, 2000

Stats: 236 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (236)


  • October 31, 2009
    creepy early de palma about siamese twins. nice comic touches. loved the ending
  • August 29, 2009
    Here Brian de Palma has put together a warped, exciting foray into body horror, giving us enough gore and disfigurement to be shocking but not enough to oversaturate us. Sisters is a simple mystery film that just happens to be peppered with gruesome imagery; the opening credits a...( read more)lone, a collection of fetus pictures magnified to emphasize their bizarre forms, succeed in luring you in almost immediately. It takes the movie about half an hour to really get going, but de Palma doesn't seem particularly concerned about the slowness of the plot. It follows a typical three-act structure with a protagonist switch at the end of the first act, similar to Psycho. Its construction of a likable lead who is subsequently removed from the film makes the film more emotionally involving. It hasn't aged perfectly and may seem a little bit transparent to the cynical viewer (most notable in the consistently incompetent police force) but movies and cinematic culture were different 35 years ago, for better or worse.

    Anyway, I love the Siamese twin conceit, the profoundly surreal "flashback" sequence in the last fifteen minutes of the film, the movie's occasional inclination toward visceral physical violence, and the sadistic tease of an ending. Even if it's a little obsolete narratively, Sisters was ahead of its time in many other regards. This feels like some crossbreed between Cronenberg and Lynch, years before either of them had even made a mainstream film: the fascination with body horror, use of bizarre aesthetics, and unusual female figures are all there. To address that latter point, Margot Kidder is a delight here (as an added bonus, she was completely crazy! Read her IMDB bio), and Jennifer Salt is an energetic and thoroughly watchable heroine.

    If you're a de Palma fan, this is absolutely mandatory viewing. Conceivably my new favorite of his films.
  • June 8, 2008
    With the valuable support of Bernard Herrmann in a terrifying score and Paul Hirsch's superb editing, De Palma accurately exploits Hitchcockian themes for the first time, and even creates his most dazzling split-screen scene ever.
  • December 14, 2007
    With respect to the subsequent direction his career took, "Sisters" is the most important movie Brian De Palma ever made. Though there are numerous references to Hitchcock here, the use of split-screen to create suspense is highly original and brilliantly done. Jennifer Salt's an...( read more)ti-establishment journalist is rather dated now but Margot Kidder and (early De Palma regular) William Finley contribute superb performances.
  • March 4, 2007
    Brian De Palma's Masterpiece.
  • August 16, 2009
    Incredibly creepy and offbeat shocker.
  • November 16, 2008
    I love the use of the split screen.
  • November 4, 2008
    Pure de Palma! Great movie! love it.
  • November 1, 2008
    Early DePalma its a genre of its own! Awesome!
  • October 13, 2008
    A cult classic. Quite twisted & disturbing. MKidder is too good. Watch with DEAD RINGERS for a nite of twisted horror.

Critic Reviews


October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

De Palma directs with a nice feeling for the incongruous. full review

View more Sisters reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Sisters Trivia


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